The Fires of Heaven/Chapter 55
Rand is chasing Rahvin through the palace with Rahvin leaving much damage and many of his supporters dead in his attacks. They are nearly equal in the power, but Rand has the [[Fat bald man angreal|fat man angreal]] which makes him much stronger. A Myrddraal leading a group of guards comes upon Rand and he channels cold so intense the Myrdraal breaks apart. Many thoughts from Lews Therin come into his head, mostly of Ilyena being dead. Rahvin channels balefire at Rand, which he barely avoids, then returns the same at Rahvin. Afterwords Rand recognizes the residue of a Gateway to Travel into Tel'aran'rhiod. He makes a similar Gateway and enters the World of Dreams to continue the battle. Rahvin tries to "unmake" Rand, but fails due to knowledge from Lews Therin. Rand sends lightning bolts through all the doorways and passages nearby. Nynaeve finds herself in the middle of a battle between Rand and Rahvin. In between retching (because she has tried to take off the a'dam), Moghedien pleads with her to leave the place because it is dangerous. Nynaeve ignores her and decides that she may know more about Tel'aran'rhiod than Rahvin does, which she sees as an advantage. The two argue for a considerable time until Moghedien simply refuses to move from where she is because of the danger. Nynaeve punishes her through the a'dam with her own flows for her intransigence, and she is not gentle. Finally, Moghedien comes around. Just about then there is a huge commotion so bad that the two women can hardly keep their feet. It is obvious that the battle continues, and what's more they can hear the sound of a man running. She realizes that the Spider is a raving coward and it almost makes her feel brave. She pulls Moghedien behind her and chases the fading steps. Rand continues the battle with Rahvin. Rahvin creates a Gateway and when Rand approaches to learn where it goes, he is caught in a trap instead. Rand is being turned into an animal of some kind, which will then have no access to the One Power. Nynaeve, with Moghedien, continues to follow the footsteps she hears, but avoids getting too close. She gets a glimpse of the man and finds it is not Rand, then continues to follow him as stealthily as she can. Finally she spots him without being seen and channels fire so that it fills the space Rahvin is in, floor to ceiling and wall to wall as hot as she can make it. Rahvin is horribly burned but he quickly puts up a shield of air to protect himself from the flames. Nynaeve's attack on Rahvin sets Rand free. Rand notices the fire from the balcony above, then Rahvin backs out of the fire, facing an unseen attacker. Rand unleashes all of the saidin he holds into a balefire attack. Rahvin simply ceases to exist. Nynaeve is afraid that Rahvin will attack and kill her and Moghedien. Just as he is about to attack, a white bar turns him to mist. Rand climbs the stairs, appearing in front of her. She makes the leash on the a'dam disappear, which continues to work as Elayne said it would. Rand wants Nynaeve to tell Elayne to forget him because he has something else to love. He also tells Nynaeve that Lan says the same to her. Nynaeve tells him that it is evil to come here in the flesh. She then deals with Moghedien by making her drink a cup of forkroot. Before Moghedien sleeps, Nynaeve mentions some things Moghedien said that Nynaeve had never mentioned in Tel'aran'rhiod. Finally Nynaeve tells her that she will see her in Salidar. Rand exits the palace to find a huge mass of Myrddraal and Trollocs attacking the rise where his banner flies. He uses small weaves of balefire, many at once, to attack. The Shadowspawn finally begin to flee. The next thing Rand sees is Aviendha and Mat. He runs and hugs them both. The balefire that he had used on Rahvin wiped Rahvin's thread from the pattern far back enough that they hadn't been attacked and killed. Not everyone survived, though, and Rand is sad for those that didn't, especially the Maidens. Unanswered Questions * Why is it evil to enter Tel'aran'rhiod in the flesh? Characters *Nynaeve al'Meara *Siuan Sanche *Moghedien *Rand *Lews Therin in Rand's head *Rahvin *Aviendha *Matrim Cauthon *Asmodean *Lamelle *Pevin *Bael *Sulin Referenced *Lan Mandragoran *Birgitte *Faolain *Elayne *Gawyn *Morgase *Ilyena *Elaida *Gareth *Moiraine *Lanfear *Corin Ayellin *Nela Thane Girlhood friend of Nynaeve *Galad *Egwene Groups *Trollocs *Myrddraal Places * Tel'aran'rhiod * Caemlyn * Salidar Referenced * Andor * Tear * Tanchico * Rhuidean Items * [[Fat bald man angreal|Fat bald man angreal]] Referenced * Callandor